Latest human rights developments in the UK: 23/7/2012 – 29/7/2012

** The House of Commons is on Summer Recess and will return on 3 September. **

Mon 23/7/2012

Justice and Security Bill: House of Lords
Line by line examination of the Bill took place during the final day of committee stage.Full transcript

Religious Freedom: Media
A seminar was held on Article 9 ECHR, with Dinah Rose QC, John Bowers QC, Dr Evan Harris and Rabbi Michael Laitner squaring off over the relationship of the courts to religious belief and believers, refereed by Joshua Rosenberg.Recording | UKHRB

Tues 24/7/2012

Damages: Judiciary
In Swift v Sec of St for Justice, the High Court assessed the intersection of Articles 8 and 14 with the law governing who can recover damages for the death of a relative.Judgment | UKHRB

Policing: Media
Pre-emptive arrests, confinement by kettling and the gathering of personal data give police officers ‘excessive and disproportionate’ control over public protests, a report by a coalition of police monitoring groups has warned.Guardian

Wed 25/7/2012

Journalism: House of Lords
The Grand Committee took note of the report of the Communications Committee, ‘The Future of Investigative Journalism’.Full transcript

Religious Belief: Judiciary
In RT (Zimbabwe) and others (Respondents) v Sec of St for the Home Department, the Supreme Court held it is no answer to a refugee claim to say that the individual concerned should avoid persecution by lying and feigning loyalty to a regime which he does not support.Judgment | UKHRB

Press Reporting: Media
On the eve of his retirement, the president of the Supreme Court Lord Phillips has launched a strong attack on the tabloid press, saying that they ‘have their knives into the ECHR’.BBC

Fri 27/7/2012

Freedom of Speech: Judiciary
In Paul Chambers v DPP, the High Court has held that Twitter users are ‘free to speak not what they ought to say, but what they feel’.Judgment | Guardian | UKHRB